Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback shows a phone displaying the Police Department’s smartphone app that people can use to file a police report, submit a crime tip and obtain crime-safety advice, among other features. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

People who run their entire lives through their smartphones now have the Riverside Police Department at their fingertips.

The department is the latest Southern California law enforcement agency to put in a person’s pocket the ability to file traffic-violation complaints and theft reports, access emergency alerts and crime maps, and connect with police on social media.

There’s also a department directory and an alert feature that Railsback himself used to caution motorists to avoid an Orangecrest neighborhood street one morning after a traffic collision.

The police departments in Long Beach, Santa Ana, Torrance and Redlands have apps, as does San Diego State’s. So do police departments in cities big and small such as Baltimore (population 620,961) and Milton, Wash. (7,970).

It’s about keeping up with how the public now obtains and shares information, said Santa Ana police Cmdr. Ken Gominsky, who led the development of the department’s app.

“I wholeheartedly believe that if you want to connect with the public, you better find ways to have them connect with the government the same way they connect with everybody else,” he said.

Since the department switched its dispatch broadcasts to an encrypted frequency in 2016, residents wondering why three police cars were rushing down their street while a helicopter circled above have had to pose that question to Facebook friends whose answers tend toward speculation. Police plan to provide accurate answers, albeit not in real time, by updating the app’s map that shows locations and types of crimes within minutes of completing an investigation.

Updates will also include crime-safety tips in Spanish and educational messages through the Facebook and Twitter categories.

“It’s only going to get better,” Railsback said.

Already, Riverside police are seeing more use of the crime tips feature.

Users must sign up with their name, but if they wish may send a tip anonymously; the user’s name isn’t attached to the tip.

Police do not track those who use the app, Railsback said.

“If you want to be anonymous, you’re anonymous,” he said.

Railsback and Sgt. Ronald Harris, a spokesman for the Torrance Police Department, emphasized that “in-progress” emergencies should be called in to 911. Police do not monitor tip features on the app, Facebook and Twitter 24 hours a day.

The Torrance app, created in 2015, includes a button showing a howling animal inside a crescent moon for reporting coyote sightings. The tips are sent to the police traffic bureau.

“Something unique to our department, we have a coyote management team to help address the problem,” Harris said. The team was formed two years ago.

With a few clicks, someone can report the location of the coyote sighting and include a photo. The feature complements a city program that urges residents to pick up their trash, not leave food out and keep their pets leashed.

Long Beach police emphasized reporting crime tips when their app debuted in 2013 and made a video to promote its use.

“If you ask anyone on the police force, they will tell you the best asset they have for solving crimes and for preventing crimes is public involvement,” Bob Foster, who was mayor at the time, said in the video.

Redlands’ app focuses on collecting crime tips. The front page of the app features the familiar “See something – say something” plea to report suspicious activity. There’s also a link to the department’s Twitter and Facebook pages. Redlands recently began posting crime summaries to Facebook.

Santa Ana’s app has a feature with which with one click, a user can see photos and summaries of the city’s most wanted criminals. Gominsky, the commander, said the app makes it easy for residents to make anonymous tips about criminal activity.

At community meetings, residents are saying they like the list of police bureau phone numbers and links to other city departments.

“People are raving about having the city’s phone directory at their fingertips on their phones 24 hours a day,” Gominsky said.

Brian Rokos writes about public safety issues such as policing, criminal justice, scams, how law affects public safety, firefighting tactics and wildland fire danger. He has also covered the cities of San Bernardino, Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore, Perris, Canyon Lake and Hemet. Before that he supervised reporters and worked as a copy editor. For some reason, he enjoys movies where the Earth is threatened with extinction.